03.28.07
Authors Who Blog
Here’s a fun little article from Publisher’s Weekly about authors that blog. Actually, I barely know any authors who don’t blog. Most authors are trying to find a place to show their works to the public, and a blog is an easy and cost-effective way to do it. I guess, hypothetically, if you were too big for your britches, you wouldn’t need a blog; but for everyone else, I’d recommend it.
Blogs can provide insight to an author’s work or process. They can be used as mini-sites to complement a book (like this blog). The downside of having a blog? Losing thirty minutes a day posting an entry or two? It’s not a huge investment for something that allows you to build and maintain your fan base.
Heck, without blogging, I wouldn’t even be an author! So of course I encourage blogging for authors — and everyone — alike.
“But the big question, of course, is, do blogs sell books? On that, everyone agrees that the answer is yes, though no one can point to any numbers, at least not yet. ‘Saleswise, I’m not necessarily expecting to see a post-for-post, purchase-for-purchase correlation,’ said Julie Strauss-Gabel, who edits Green at Dutton. ‘Blogging is a long-term endeavor, one that builds and sustains a loyal fan base over a career.’
[Meg] Cabot says that after she started blogging, visits to her Web site soared. Dessen used her blog to count down the days to her pub date for Just Listen, and readers stormed bookstores looking for their copy. ‘I had a lot of girls go to stores on the first day and when the book wasn’t on display, they had someone go into the back and made them open a box,’ she recalled. ‘I really liked hearing that.’
Building excitement online about upcoming appearances definitely makes a difference, says Elizabeth Eulberg, publicity director at Little, Brown. Meyer cultivated fans of her vampire-themed novels with Web updates and with regular participation on fan-generated sites devoted to her books. Those readers turned out in droves for her appearances for New Moon. ‘A lot of them will greet her with their screen names—’Hi, I’m edwardlover!’—and what amazes me is that Stephenie remembers most of them!’ Eulberg said.”
-To Blog or Not to Blog?-